Verizon pushes Android 4.2 Jelly Bean to Samsung's Galaxy Nexus

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) is updating Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Nexus smartphone to run Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 4.2, a.k.a. Jelly Bean. The operator is pushing the over-the-air update to subscribers in phases over the days ahead.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Google unveiled Android 4.2 Jelly Bean in October. The update features the Photo Sphere camera application, which enables users to capture 360-degree panoramic images they can share via the Google+ social platform or upload to Google Maps. Additional highlights include Gesture Typing, a Swype-like text input tool enabling users to drag their finger across the screen from letter to letter, as well as Miracast, which brings wireless media sharing capabilities similar to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Airplay.

Google's Android Developers Dashboard reveals that just 1.6 percent of devices now run Jelly Bean 4.2. Android 4.1, also nicknamed Jelly Bean, powers 14.9 percent of devices. Google is expected to announce Android 5.0--purportedly nicknamed Key Line Pie--during its annual I/O developer conference, taking place in San Francisco in May.

Android controls 52.3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to comScore data published earlier this month. Apple's iOS follows at 37.8 percent, far ahead of third-place BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) at 5.9 percent.

Comments

Join 55,000+ Insiders

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

FierceMobileIT provides tools, tips and case studies on how to deploy the latest wireless technologies in the enterprise. Join 55,000+ CIOs and senior IT managers who subscribe to our free daily email briefing. Sign up today!